ANGLO-AMERICAN LANGUAGE 1

The course consists in a semster-long module linked to year-long linguistic practice (Esercitazioni Linguistiche. The overarching objective of the course is to promote and strengthen mastery of the English language and help students reach the B2+ of the Common European Framework for languages (CEFR). The module this semster is ca-taught with Prof. Dowling. uesto semestre il mio modulo semestrale, "English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker," è co-insegnato con il Prof. Dowling il cui modulo è sul Verb System. Il Prof. Dowling e io ci alterneremo insegnando, prima uno e poi l’altra (o viceversa), ciascuno un cluster di 7/8 lezioni.
La mia parte del corso intende offrire gli strumenti per avvicinarsi in maniera consapevole all'inglese degli Stati Uniti e al corso di Lingua Anglo-Americana a Ca' Foscari come un laboratorio di idee utile ad affrontare le sfide del nostro tempo.
Courese requirements are: a Portfolio and a final oral exam for my part of the module; a final written exam for Prof. Dowling's part of the module.

1. Knowledge and understanding of the development of English in the United States of American and of the global attractiveness of the language and culture of the US in the present, especially from the perspective of the growing importance of intercultural awareness, as stressed in the profile of the language user outlined in the text of the Common European Framework (2001; 2018).
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: the ability to understand academic texts of varying complexity and a literary, critical and theoretical slant; oral presentations and ability to interact and collaborate in peer learning sessions. The metalinguistic awareness acquired in the module should facilitate language learning in an academic context.
3. Making judgments: interpreting and synthesizing complex texts in English in an efficient and personalized way; developing consciousness of the empowering connection between reading, interpretation, and writing; to summarize and comment on arguments from a variety of texts, while attempting to formulate their own arguments in response to them;
.4 Communication skills: Level B2+ of the CEFR, for receptive skills, written production, oral production and oral interaction. Students should be able to express themselves clearly, in a structured way, and with few errors.
5. Learning skills: understanding academic texts and the ability to paraphrase them; note-taking while listening and the ability to summarize texts after listening.

Level B2 of the CEFR and interest in the subject.

Module:

My part of the module is entitled “English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker” and it is based on a textbook that I designed especially for Ca’ Foscari incoming students. The focus of this part of the module is on building your language skills, especially reading comprehension and oral and written skills while acquiring knowledge on the history and the structural features of English as it developed in the United States of America. Our classes are conceived to welcome first year students. For this reason, their overall aim is to convey the role of awareness as a fundamental aid in the study of a language, as it is championed by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). I will encourage you to activate the power of awareness, which involves the ability to assess your needs and your strengths as a language user.
The more specific objective, of course, is to facilitate a closer acquaintance with American English, the English used in the United States of America. We will overview the historical development of English in the United States and we will learn about its development through contact zones or areas in which different ethnic groups cohabited and co-existed. We will dewll on the representation of American speech in colonial and revolutionary times as well as on the reflection on language in the contemporary age by feminist movements.
My methodology banks on the potential of the language encounter to transform the undergraduate language classroom into a workshop of ideas. Approaching the language of the U.S. offers learners a double opportunity: it enables students to reflect on their own relation to language not only as a set of forms but also as an affective reality; it simultaneously offers students the tools to ask important questions for our time. For example: we will ask what makes the collective institution of language hospitable to individual users; or, how an individual beneficial attachment to a collective institution might be possible. We will do so with the help of short, manageable passages from great modern thinkers. Thus, this introduction to English for American Studies is designed to stimulate your imagination at the linguistic, historical, and cultural levels. Here are the class topics:

1. Introduction to the course
2. Awareness and Intercultural Awareness
3.Language: The Strange Relation
4.Imagining American English: A Historical Overview
5.Contact Zones
6. The Speaking Subject
7. Words
8. Sentences


Lettorato:

- developing comprehension skills for oral and written texts
- developing the principal skills for oral and written production
- consolidation of overall level of B2 on CEFR

Module:

Mena Mitrano, English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker (Venice: Libreria Editrice
Cafoscarina, 2021). PRINT. Available at Libreria Cafoscarina.






Lettorato:
Oxenden, Clive; Latham-Koening, Cristina. ENGLISH FILE DIGITAL GOLD Student’s Book and Workbook, C1. OUP, 2020. ISBN 9780194037891

Michael Swan, Catherine Walter. OXFORD ENGLISH GRAMMAR COURSE, Advanced, with complete interactive e-book, including pronunciation for grammar. OUP 978-0-19-441493-7

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION:
The course requirements constitute the elements of evaluation. The course requires: active participation, which includes the assigned weekly readings and study questions, participation in peer learning sessions and collaborative class activities; the production of a portfolio; a final oral exam. The aim of the final oral exam is to gauge the degree of your familiarity with the materials and your willingness to weave productive connections. Because the course is co-taught with Prof. Dowling, the course requires a final written exam with Prof. Dowling on the Verb System. Moreover, Esercitazioni Linguistiche are a fundamental course requirements.

In order to access the final exam with me and Prof. Dowling, you must earn at least a sufficient level in Esercitazioni Linguistiche. There are 3 levels in Esercitazioni Linguistiche: C (sufficient); B (average); A (good). Students who will have earned a C level or higher in Esercitazioni Linguistiche can take the final exam. Please note that your level is not, nor should it be, a grade, since in Lingua Anglo-Americana 1 students are evaluated by the Module professors. The letter you earn is simply an indication of the level of your linguistic skills. The Module Professors decide your final grade based on the different elements of evaluation listed above: active participation, portfolio, final oral exam, for my part of the Module, final written exam on the Verb System with Professor Dowling, and your level of language competence. Please, see “Documento Chiarezza” on Moodle page for a detailed description of the final exam and the assessment system.
To recap, the elements of evaluation in Lingua Anglo-Americana 1 are:
• Active participation;
• A portfolio (to hand it at the end of the Module);
• A final oral exam (Prof. Mitrano);
• A final written exam (Prof. Dowling).
+
• Passing (or higher) level in Esercitazioni Linguistiche (from C up)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION: NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS/STUDENT WORKERS:
All non-attending students in my part of the Module will be responsible for the following additional readings: Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker. They will produce a portfolio to be handed in before the final exam; take the oral part of the exam with me and the written part of the exam with Prof. Dowling.
Non-attending students and student workers are strongly encouraged to contact me to discuss the production of their final portfolio.
In order to take the final exam, non-attending students must have their language skills assessed by our language teachers or Lettrici. To recap, the elements of evaluation in Lingua Anglo-Americana 1 for non-attending students are:
• In addition to all the chapters of the textbook, English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker, all non-attending students are expected to master the contents of Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the textbook;
• A portfolio (to hand it at the end of the Module);
• A final oral exam (Prof. Mitrano);
• A final written exam (Prof. Dowling).
+
• Passing (or higher) level in Esercitazioni Linguistiche (from C up)

The portfolio experience has been conceived as a concrete way of fostering awareness and self-direction. During the module students will produce 6 written responses to 6 Study Questions. At the end of the module, students will choose only 4 responses out of 6 representative of their best work. The Portfolio consists of those 4 best written texts.

Lecture
Discussion
Peer learning sessions

English

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development